Posted by Dan Ewert : 4/16/2003 11:37:00 PM (Archive Link)
On a more personal note, a couple of weeks ago, I had a discussion with my father-in-law about what the perceptions of the Iraqi people would be after the war. My contention was that the Iraqis would see us as liberators and like us. He disagreed and said this wasn’t the case, that they wouldn’t see their attackers as liberators. Furthermore, he stated that the bulk of a population doesn’t much care who is ruling them as long as they may continue about their usual daily lives without hindrance and interruption. This gave me cause to think because the man is a decorated Vietnam combat veteran and saw first-hand what war’s effect is on civilians and their attitudes. From an empirical standpoint, he knows more than I do about this sort of thing and I had to take some time to mull it over. So after giving it some, I’ve decided that he’s mostly correct, but perhaps too cynical. Here’s what I mean by that… the daily lives of normal individuals are decidedly important and they won’t tolerate too great a disruption. Thus far in Iraq, though, we haven’t seen much blow back in this regard and have been well received by most civilians. I’ve read several reports of people who had lost loved ones or were sitting by their relative’s hospital bed and they admitted they didn’t blame the U.S. for the deaths or injuries despite the fact that American munitions were directly responsible. Instead, they blamed the Hussein regime for it coming to that through its bellicosity and through its dirty fighting techniques. They genuinely understood that American forces were not out to hurt civilians. So given that and the joyous responses we have received, I think it’s safe to say that we are being positively perceived as liberators.

This would not have been the case, however, if the conflict had dragged on. If the country were in a state of a constant long-term war, then civilians would start looking favorably on Hussein. He may be an SOB but at least there wasn’t all this fighting perpetually disrupting everything. I think this is where my father-in-law’s experiences come into play. Vietnam had been in a state of war for many years and most of the populace was tired of it all and didn’t much care who was in power. They just yearned for normalcy. This could have happened in Iraq as well were it not for the swift resolution.

We still face the possibility of a restless people, though. What remains now is how quickly we can establish control in Iraq and set up a civil administration and then a civil government. In other words, how quickly can we reestablish normalcy for the Iraqis so that they may go about their daily lives. We currently have their good will since we overthrew the tyrant who had been oppressing them. Such good will, though, can be short-lived if we are unable to prove in the aftermath of the war that their lives really are better off without Hussein. The euphoria of freedom can be short-lived if basic needs can’t be met and if normal governmental civil functions cannot be performed. As such, it’s tremendously important to bring order to Iraq and then self-governance and let them realize just how much better their lives can be.